Rainforests, Tsingy & the RN7
A sweeping 26-day journey from eastern rainforest to western stone forest, returning through Madagascar’s Highlands, communities, national parks and southwest coast.
Madagascar,
deeply and slowly.
Begin among the rainforests of Andasibe, cross to the baobabs and dry forests of the west, and venture into the limestone world of Tsingy de Bemaraha.
From there, the route turns inland through volcanic highlands, community reserves and Ranomafana’s rainforest before reaching Isalo and the beaches of Ifaty.
Arrive in Madagascar and meet your Miremby team for a private transfer to your hotel. The remainder of the day is deliberately unhurried, giving you time to settle in after your international journey.
Meet your Antananarivo-based Miremby team and begin the journey with a warm Malagasy welcome.
Capture your first impressions of the capital, from highland light to the city’s layered architecture.
Leave the capital and travel east through terraced hills, rice fields and busy highland towns. The road gradually descends towards Andasibe, where cool rainforest and the calls of indri shape the days ahead.
Travel through RN2 highland towns and rice-growing communities, guided by local knowledge along the way.
Photograph terraced rice fields, red-earth villages and the landscape turning into eastern rainforest.
Explore Andasibe with an expert local guide, listening for the haunting call of the indri and searching the canopy for lemurs, birds and chameleons. After dusk, return to the forest edge for a guided night walk.
Take a night walk through Mitsinjo Community Forest, supported by guides from the Andasibe community.
Search after dark for nocturnal lemurs, tiny chameleons, tree frogs and other rainforest wildlife.
A second full day allows you to explore at a slower pace, follow wildlife activity and spend longer in the forest without rushing. Your guide will shape the day around conditions, sightings and your interests.
Spend unhurried time with an expert Andasibe guide, hearing how local lives remain connected to the forest.
Follow indri calls and photograph diademed sifakas, forest birds and changing light beneath the canopy.
Travel back through Madagascar’s eastern highlands to Antananarivo. On arrival, check in and rest ahead of the flight west to Morondava and the next chapter of your journey.
Share the return journey with your guide and see everyday life in the villages and market towns along the RN2.
Look back across forested valleys, rice terraces and highland panoramas on the road to Antananarivo.
Fly to Madagascar’s west coast, where your private vehicle will be waiting. Continue inland towards Kirindy through open Menabe landscapes and baobab country, arriving at the reserve in time to settle in.
Meet your locally based western team and travel through the rural communities of the Menabe region.
Photograph the first baobabs, open western plains and the transition into Kirindy’s dry forest.
Explore Kirindy’s remarkable dry deciduous forest by day and again after sunset. With a specialist local guide, look for sifakas, brown lemurs, reptiles and birds, then search for nocturnal species as the forest changes after dark.
Explore Kirindy with a specialist local guide whose tracking knowledge reveals the forest’s hidden life.
Look for Verreaux’s sifakas and fossa by day, then mouse lemurs, reptiles and owls after dark.
Set out along the remote western track towards Bekopaka, crossing rivers by ferry and travelling through rural Menabe. This is a long but memorable expedition day, revealing a rarely seen side of Madagascar.
Cross the Tsiribihina with local ferry crews and pass through remote Menabe villages on the road to Bekopaka.
Capture river crossings, village scenes, baobab country and the vast landscapes of western Madagascar.
Paddle quietly along the Manambolo River in a traditional pirogue, beneath limestone cliffs and through the canyon landscape. Later, explore the accessible pathways and viewpoints of the Small Tsingy with your park guide.
Travel with a local pirogue guide on the Manambolo and hear the stories held within this cultural landscape.
Photograph limestone cliffs, river reflections, caves and wildlife in the forest pockets of the Small Tsingy.
Spend the day exploring the extraordinary Grand Tsingy: a vast limestone labyrinth of pinnacles, caves, forest pockets and suspended viewpoints. Your route is selected with your guide according to conditions and confidence.
Discover the Grand Tsingy with a Bemaraha park guide whose expertise makes the limestone labyrinth accessible.
Look for lemurs and endemic birds between the pinnacles, with dramatic canyon and suspension-bridge views.
Retrace the western road towards Morondava, crossing the rivers and passing through baobab country. Arrive at the Avenue of the Baobabs for golden-hour light before continuing to your hotel by the coast.
Reconnect with ferry crews and roadside communities as you retrace the remote western route to Morondava.
Photograph the Avenue of the Baobabs in warm evening light as silhouettes form across the landscape.
Leave the coast and travel east through wide agricultural plains and changing rural landscapes. Miandrivazo provides a comfortable overnight pause as the route begins its gradual climb towards Madagascar’s central highlands.
Pass farming villages and small roadside markets, seeing how life changes between the coast and inland plains.
Capture the wide western landscape, agricultural scenes and the Tsiribihina River around Miandrivazo.
Continue into cooler highland country, where rice terraces, red-earth villages and mountain views replace the western plains. Arrive in Antsirabe, a graceful spa town known for its craft traditions and pousse-pousse.
Arrive in Antsirabe and encounter the pousse-pousse culture and everyday rhythm of this highland town.
Photograph red-earth villages, mountain horizons and layered rice terraces as the road climbs east.
Visit the vivid volcanic waters of Lake Tritriva before spending time with a local community initiative. Back in Antsirabe, explore the town and meet craftspeople whose workshops reflect the creativity of the Highlands.
Meet Antsirabe’s local artisans and learn how skills, materials and family workshops sustain creative livelihoods.
Frame Lake Tritriva’s volcanic crater, vivid water and highland scenery, alongside respectful artisan portraits.
Travel south through the Highlands before turning east towards Ranomafana. Rice terraces and village life give way to steep, forested valleys as you approach one of Madagascar’s most biodiverse rainforest landscapes.
Travel through Betsileo highland communities and observe the farming landscapes shaped around rice cultivation.
Photograph sculpted terraces, village life and the dramatic transition into Ranomafana’s forested valleys.
Explore Ranomafana National Park with a specialist local guide, searching for lemurs and endemic wildlife. The day also connects you with the Tanala community and OloNala, bringing forest knowledge, culture and local creativity together.
Meet OloNala and spend time with the Tanala community, understanding local creativity and ways of life.
Search for golden bamboo lemurs and photograph rainforest wildlife with guidance on natural behaviour.
Leave the rainforest and continue south towards the granite massifs around Ambalavao. Arrive near Anja Community Reserve, where local management has protected an important landscape and a thriving ring-tailed lemur population.
Learn how Anja’s community-run reserve connects conservation income with local livelihoods and protection.
Capture the granite massifs around Ambalavao and your first views of ring-tailed lemur country.
Walk through Anja with a community guide, following trails beneath dramatic granite cliffs. Ring-tailed lemurs move through the forest and among the rocks, while the visit directly supports locally led conservation and livelihoods.
Walk with an Anja community guide and see how local management protects both the reserve and village livelihoods.
Photograph ring-tailed lemurs moving naturally through fig trees and across the granite boulders.
Continue south through wide-open plateau scenery towards the sandstone massifs of Isalo. On arrival, check into Isalo Rock Lodge and enjoy time to relax within one of Madagascar’s most striking landscapes.
Journey through the communities of the Horombe Plateau and hear local perspectives on this open landscape.
Capture immense plateau horizons and the sandstone walls of Isalo appearing in the changing afternoon light.
Walk through Isalo National Park with a local guide, following a route shaped around your ability and interests. Sandstone formations, natural pools, canyons and dry-adapted wildlife make this a beautifully varied day on foot.
Explore with an Isalo local guide and learn why the canyons and surrounding landscape hold cultural importance.
Photograph sculpted sandstone, natural pools and dry-forest wildlife, including lemurs and endemic birds.
Travel west towards the Mozambique Channel, stopping at Zombitse-Vohibasia National Park to explore its dry forest with a local guide. Continue through Tulear and north to Ifaty for a relaxed coastal arrival.
Walk Zombitse with a locally based guide and learn how community livelihoods connect with forest protection.
Look for Verreaux’s sifakas, giant couas and other dry-forest species beneath baobab canopies.
Discover the extraordinary plants of Ifaty’s baobab and spiny forest reserve with a local guide. Learn how this dry landscape supports endemic birds, reptiles and plant life found nowhere else on Earth.
Discover the spiny forest with a local guide who shares traditional plant knowledge and community connections.
Photograph ancient baobabs, endemic birds, reptiles and the extraordinary shapes of drought-adapted plants.
A free day beside the sea with no fixed schedule. Rest by the beach, enjoy the lodge or choose an optional locally guided experience, leaving plenty of space to absorb the journey so far.
Choose an optional locally guided coastal experience and meet people whose livelihoods are tied to the sea.
Capture pirogues, coastal birdlife, fishing scenes and the soft morning light across the Mozambique Channel.
Enjoy another deliberately unhurried day on Madagascar’s southwest coast. Swim, read, wander along the beach or simply relax before the return flight to Antananarivo.
Spend time around Ifaty’s coastal community, supporting locally owned guides, makers and small businesses.
Photograph shoreline life, seabirds and a final southwest sunset reflected across the water.
Transfer to Tulear Airport for your domestic flight to Antananarivo. On arrival, your Miremby team will meet you and transfer you privately to your hotel for a final night in Madagascar.
Say farewell to your southwest team before being welcomed again by Miremby’s Antananarivo-based staff.
From the air, photograph the changing coastline, drylands and Highlands that reveal Madagascar’s scale.
Your private transfer will be arranged around your international departure time. Leave Madagascar carrying memories of rainforest, stone forest, baobabs, communities, highland landscapes and the Indian Ocean.
Share final farewells with the Miremby team whose local relationships have shaped the journey from start to finish.
Take in final highland and city views, with time for the photographs that close your Madagascar story.
Travel that gives back.
Across rainforest, stone forest, Highlands and coast, this journey supports a wide network of local guides, communities and conservation partners.
Native seedlings funded
£25 per client funds 140 native seedlings for restoration.
Local people & partners
Guides, drivers, ferry and boat crews, artisans and community hosts.
Projects visited
Community forests, OloNala, Anja and locally led coastal initiatives.
Journey impact contribution
This £100 contribution is donated through the Miremby Foundation or directly to local project partners connected with this journey.
Confirmed commitments per traveller. A separate £25 buys 140 native seedlings; the £100 journey impact contribution is additional. Recipient projects and funded activities are confirmed after travel.
Experience Madagascar with people who call it home.
This private journey is shaped around you. Flights, seasons, interests and local conditions can all be considered in your tailored quotation.
Enquire about this journey